Just The Way You Are
"Just The Way You Are" is the debut single written about Mallory Smith by American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars, and is the lead single from his debut studio album, Doo-Wops and Hooligans. It was released in the United States on July 20, 2010. It has also received airplay from AOL Radio's New Pop First station. The song was written by The Smeezingtons, Khalil Walton, Jon Ray, and Needlz and produced by The Smeezingtons, and Needlz. The music video, directed by Ethan Lader, was released on September 8, 2010 and features Peruvian born Australian actress Nathalie Kelley. The track was added to Radio 1 A Playlist in the United Kingdom, and was released in the United Kingdom on September 19, 2010 as "Just the Way You Are (Amazing)". The official remix features rapper Lupe Fiasco and is included on the deluxe edition of Doo-Wops & Hooligans. On February 13, 2011, the song won the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. "Just the Way You Are" has sold 12.5 million copies worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling singles of all time. Background The song was written by The Smeezingtons, Khalil Walton, and Needlz. Bruno said of the song, "It took me months to come up with 'Just the Way You Are'... I wasn't thinking of anything deep or poetic. I was telling a story. Get ready to fall in love!" He added, "I'm a big fan of songs like Joe Cocker's 'You Are So Beautiful' and Eric Clapton's 'Wonderful Tonight' - songs that go straight to the point. You know, there's no mind-boggling lyrics or twists in the story - they just come directly from the heart. And to me 'Just The Way You Are' is one of those songs. There's nothing mind-blowing about it. I'm just telling a woman she looks beautiful the way she IS - and, let's be honest, what woman doesn't wanna hear those lyrics?!" The song is in the Key of F Major and consists of the chords F, D-minor and B-Flat. Reception Critical reception The song has been well received by music critics. Digital Spy's Nick Levine gave the song four out of five stars and described it as a "huge-hearted urbany piano ballad" and compared it to "Doesn't Mean Anything" by Alicia Keys: "with a similar sound but not quite as good as the Alicia Keys hit with its instant classic feel. In her review for Billboard, Megan Vick wrote: "Over a breezy piano and vaguely hip-hop breakbeat, Mars professes his love for a beautiful girl who occupies his dreams ... Mars pens lyrics that aim to make female listeners feel nothing short of perfect in their own skin. With its steady, danceable pulse and singalong chorus, Mars has created a feel-good jam that should establish him as a solo contender in his own right." Nima Baniamer from Contactmusic.com felt that "there is nothing about the single that makes Bruno Mars stand out from all the other RnB artists dominating the charts at the moment", and said, "The song never builds to any climax and it simply falls a bit flat, coming across quite corny and cheesy." Chart performance The song reached the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 on the chart dated October 2, 2010, ending the two-week reign of Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream". The song spent a total of 48 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. By the end of December 2010, the song had sold over 3,280,000 digital copies in the US alone; and by September 2012, it has sold 5,580,508 downloads. On September 26, 2010, it became the singer's second number-one single in the United Kingdom, where it hit the number-one spot again on October 24, 2010 from sales of 116,000 copies becoming the first song ever to have left the top three before rebounding to the top spot. It sold 766,000 copies during 2010, becoming the third biggest seller of the year. On 2 January 2011 it was revealed that the song is the ninth most downloaded song of all time in the United Kingdom. On 2 August 2011 "Just The Way You Are" became the 108th million-selling single in the UK, it took 43 weeks to reach there. As of November 2012, the song has sold over 1,120,000 copies. The song jumped from 7 to 1 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart dated October 9, 2010. On October 12, 2010, Bruno Mars got his third number one single in the Dutch Top 40, after "Nothin' On You" and "Billionaire", and it reached the 11 weeks at the number one in the Netherlands on December 20. The song also reached number one in Australia and certified triple platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association. Music video The corresponding music video was shot in September of 2010. It has received strong airplay on VH1 Europe, reaching #1 on the VH1 Pop Chart. The video features Peruvian-Australian actress Nathalie Kelley. The video begins with Kelley listening to "Just the Way You Are" on her Walkman as Mars walks in. Mars stops the tape player, removes the cassette tape and begins singing his song. As the instrumental portion of the song begins, Mars pulls the media out of the cassette tape and arranges the media into letters forming his name followed by the song title. As the song continues, he forms a picture of a drum, again on the table, using the tape media. Additional images of similar construction follow throughout the video including a portrait of Mars as well as one of Kelley blinking her eyes and smiling as Mars continues singing. Most of the images shown are animated, including a bell which Mars rings with his fingers in synchronization with the chimes near the end of the song. Lastly, Mars finishes the song while singing and playing an upright piano while Kelley watches and smiles. The video was inspired by the artwork of Erika Iris Simmons. Worldwide, it was the eighth best selling digital single of 2012 with sales of 12.2 million copies. Lyrics Oh, her eyes, her eyes, make the stars look like they're not shining Her hair, her hair, falls perfectly without her trying She's so beautiful, and I tell her every day Yeah, I know, I know, when I compliment her she won't believe me And it's so, it's so, sad to think that she don't see what I see But every time she asks me do I look ok, I say When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change Cause you're amazing, just the way you are And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while Because girl you're amazing, just the way you are(yeah) Her lips, her lips, I could kiss them all day if she let me Her laugh, her laugh, she hates but I think it's so sexy She's so beautiful, and I tell her every day Oh, you know, you know, you know, I'd never ask you to change If perfect's what you're searching for then just stay the same So, don't even bother asking if you look ok You know I'll say When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change Cause you're amazing, just the way you are And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while Because girl you're amazing, just the way you are The way you are, the way you are Girl you're amazing, just the way you are When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change Cause you're amazing, just the way you are And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while Cause girl you're amazing, just the way you are. Yeah... Category:Songs Category:Doo-Wops and Hooligans Songs Category:Doo-Wops and Hooligans Singles Category:Bruno Mars